What the World Was Watching: WWF Superstars – July 4, 1992

Vince McMahon and Mr. Perfect handle commentary, continuing the taping cycle in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Perfect has a sparkler lit up because it is July 4, saying that the United States is a more perfect Declaration of Independence. He declares independence from McMahon and throws a bomb at him, with both men playing hot potato with it. McMahon later says it was a dud.

Opening Contest: High Energy (9-0) defeat Bob Bradley & Joe Milano when Owen Hart pins Milano after a Koko B. Ware missile dropkick at 1:54:

The Nasty Boys do an insert promo promising a street fight for High Energy. Owen dominates each jobber in turn. Bradley is phoning it in, barely selling a double nogging knocker in the corner. High Energy use their new finish where Owen raises Milano for a Ware missile dropkick and does a rolling cradle for the pin.

Gene Okerlund’s Update segment recaps Nailz’s beatdown of the Big Bossman more than a month ago. On the phone, the Bossman tells Okerlund that he has been physically weakened by Nailz’s attack but he is not going to let Nailz take over. When asked when he will return, the Bossman says it will be sooner than Nailz thinks.

Rick Martel (14-3-1) beats Jason Knight via submission to the Boston Crab at 2:22:

Knight was trained by WWWF talents Johnny Rodz and Bobby Bold Eagle and started his career in 1984. He did some enhancement matches for WCW in 1990 and went on to greater fame a few years later as Jason in ECW.

Martel does a split screen promo about how Tatanka is letting down his people by not being brave. Knight gets a near-fall from a body press off the ropes, angering Martel who aggressively takes him to the buckle and plants him with a gutwrench suplex. There a few avid Tatanka fans in the audience who try to mimic his war yell but that does not help Knight as his monkey flip attempt out of the corner is blocked and Martel wins another match with the Boston Crab.

Crush (6-0) beats Kerry Davis via submission to a head vice at 1:45:

McMahon and Perfect put over Crush’s physical gifts and agility as he uses his regular moveset to set up the head vice submission.

Papa Shango (13-0) pins Joe McMullen after the reverse shoulderbreaker at 1:17:

Before the match, Shango goes into a trance and fire shoots out of the skull he brings to the ring. McMullen grabs his knee in pain, so Shango takes him off his feet early. A powerbomb makes the reverse shoulderbreaker an unnecessary ending to this squash. Shango got a bit of heat during this squash but not enough to warrant a main event push.

Sergeant Slaughter (7-1) defeats Barry Hardy via submission to the Cobra Clutch at 1:51:

Slaughter hangs onto Hardy’s wrist, lays in lots of kicks, and then rams his knee into Hardy’s gut to seize an early advantage that he does not relinquish. In the split screen, Slaughter tells the Mountie that he will not keep his independence.

Okerlund interviews Repo Man, who rides to the interview podium on a bicycle. Repo Man brags about repossessing it from a college kid a few blocks from the arena. Okerlund almost laughs at the story but catches himself. When asked about the British Bulldog, Repo Man says that he is the Bulldog’s master, alleging that he recently made the Bulldog beg, roll over, and shake his hands. Repo Man tells the Bulldog that he will not make it to SummerSlam because he will fix him for good. This promo had good comedy but needed to also end on a serious note to present Repo Man as any type of threat to the Bulldog.

Non-Title Contest: Bret Hart (Intercontinental Champion) (19-1-1) defeats Barry Horowitz via submission to the Sharpshooter at 2:07:

Bret started the year by squashing Horowitz on the January 5 episode of Wrestling Challenge so he is cycling back to kick off the last six months of 1992. In the split screen, Bret tells Shawn Michaels that it will take more than a high opinion of himself to become Intercontinental champion. Bret slams Horowitz and locks in the Sharpshooter as McMahon and Perfect wonder whether Sensational Sherri’s interference could help make Michaels the new Intercontinental titleholder.

A new Razor Ramon vignette sees him walking the streets of Miami, talking about how everyone wants to be like him. He says to be like him you have to take what you want. He takes a bite of fruit and spits it on a grocery worker. Ramon closes by saying that anyone who has trouble with him taking whatever he wants will have problems with him in the WWF. According to Bruce Prichard, the WWF filmed these vignettes without any permits and there were a lot of curious onlookers wondering what was going on during this vignette.

The Beverly Brothers (w/the Genius) (14-1) beat Scott Taylor & Phil Apollo when Beau pins Taylor after the Shaker Heights Spike at 1:30:

As the Beverlys make their entrance, McMahon tells fans that they need to tune into WBF Body Stars to see Gary Strydom’s winning performance at the recent WBF Championship. After the Beverlys punish Apollo with a leapfrog body guillotine he tags in Taylor, who gets suplexed, stun gunned, and finished with the Shaker Heights Spike. After the match, the Beverlys paint Taylor’s face and write “LOS” on his chest to further antagonize the Legion of Doom. This marks a tenth-straight televised win for the Beverlys.

Tune in next week to see WWF Tag Team Champions Money Incorporated, Shawn Michaels, the Undertaker, Nailz, and the Legion of Doom in action!

The Last Word: As has been the case the last few weeks, the big developments happened outside of the arena as fans learned that the Big Bossman was hoping to return soon and Razor Ramon was coming to the WWF with a chip on his shoulder. Conspicuous by its absence yet again is discussion of the WWF Championship. The lack of attention to that title is just like the spring and early summer of 1990, which was the last time the WWF suffered from poor house show attendance.

Up Next: Wrestling Challenge for July 5!